Selected E-C Translation Of Perfect Worlds:Utopian Fiction In China And The West(Chapter 4 And 11) And A Critical Commentary

This translation project consists of two parts: selected translation of Perfect Worlds: Utopian Fiction in China and the West by Douwe Fokkema and a critical commentary on the significance of the project and the translation strategies and methods used in the project under the guidance of Peter Newmark's translation theories.Douwe Fokkema is a well-known Dutch scholar in comparative literature and literary theories.With a total of 17 chapters,the book discusses the postmodernity of contemporary Chinese literature in the context of globalization,deconstructs the western-oriented mode of international postmodern research from the perspective of a western scholar,and conducts a comparative research of the distinctive features of utopian fictions in Chinese and western literature.This translation project involves two excerpts from the book,i.e.,chapters 4 and 11,which consist of about 11,000 English words.Chapter 4,titled “Interlude: The Island Syndrome from Atlantis to Lanzarote and Penglai” mainly talks about the changing European tradition of Utopian fictions and the setting of Chinese utopias.Chapter 11,titled “Bellamy's Solidarity and Its Feminist Mirror Image in Herland,” mainly discusses Bellamy's solidarity in Looking Backward,and how Charlotte Perkins Gilman applies Bellamy's solidarity in her Herland to show feminist mirror image.As an important literary phenomenon in the history of western literature,utopian literature(fiction)has not been paid enough attention for a long time.The situation is especially worse in China,which,to some extent,not only blocks Chinese people's view of the overall understanding and appreciation of the western literature history,but also makes it less possible for us to acquire valuable literary thought resources.Therefore,the translation of Douwe Fokkema's Perfect Worlds: Utopian Fiction in China and the West,a book mainly about the distinctive features of utopian fictions in both Chinese and western literature,is conducive to further understanding of utopian fictions and helps to give due attention to utopian literature in China.The utopian fictions of Chinese and western literature have their own distinctive features respectively,and both Chinese and western scholars have conducted relatively profound research on utopian fiction of different countries in terms of different aspects.However,Douwe Fokkema is the first person to conduct a comparative study of the features of utopian fiction in China and the West.Therefore,with Fokkema's most insightful book as the original text,the translation project is full of innovative significance.Meanwhile,the translation of this book is also good for Chinese scholars to further understand utopian fiction and have a better knowledge of the features of both Chinese and western utopian fiction from a western scholar's point of view.In the critical commentary,the translation project first introduces the source text,the author of the book,and the significance of the translation project.Then it elaborates the theoretical guidance and strategies used in the translation project.The translation is conducted mainly under the guidance of Peter Newmark's communicative translation while supplemented by semantic translation,making the translation of the original text more precise and accurate.Based on the lexical and syntactical features of the original text,the critical commentary analyzes,with specific and practical examples excerpted from the translation,the use of various translation techniques,such as transliteration,conversion,addition,omission,and voice transformation during the translation,which provides a better understanding for readers to learn more about how to apply the translation theory of Peter Newmark,namely,semantic translation and communicative translation,to practical operation.In addition,it is also useful for Chinese readers to learn the respective features of both Chinese and Western utopian fictions.The project is not only beneficial to the readers who are interested in utopian fictions,but also put Peter Newmark's translation theories into practice,which make it easier for the readers to understand how to apply semantic translation and communicative translation while doing E-C translation.Meanwhile,the translation of the book mainly talks about the distinctive features of utopian literature in China and the West can offer more references for Chinese readers to lean more about westerners' view of the features of both Chinese and western utopian fictions.It is of great help for Chinese readers to have a better understanding of utopian literature and attach importance to it.